Bites: Filling the void @ Sparrow's Nest, Victoria Park.

The Sparrow’s Nest, where the little bird comes to seek their refuge. That was how I felt on the drizzly weekend.  Cold, wet and damp!  A little comfort was what I needed.  Unfortunately the sitting in the Sparrow’s Nest is a little cramp like the rest of the brunch places on the Albany Cafe strip are.   But as the wind died down, the outdoor sitting became a viable option!  In fact, it was a better sitting choice because it was cool and much more pleasant.

Omelette w/ Chorizo

Presentable, definitely very presentable and I had high hopes for it. However, the first cut through and it was immediately obvious that the pan might have been a little too hot and the egg a tad over-beaten.  I did not get that multilayer creaminess in each cut but rather a rather a cooked omelette with little craters in the middle.  I reckon a slightly lower fire and a good amount of butter to finish the omelette with a shine would have made it perfect so that the bubbles would have just slowly diminish.  Chorizo bits were mixed into the egg which was a nice, but I would have preferred large chunks of sautéed chorizo!

Pancake with Maple Syrup, Berry Coulis and Vanilla Ice-Cream

Another dish that is simply presented.  No fancy pants candied bacon, salted caramel or whatsoever, but rather a fluffy pancake evenly browned on both sides with a served of fruity berry coulis and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.   Drizzle more syrup for a perfectly moist and sticky sweet pancake.  So much better when no one tries to mess with the original pancake recipe. Note: You could have the bacon but I did not think I needed it this time.

The brunch at Sparrow Nest was a good family catch up.  Over all, the food was decent and it was cooked-well with the exception of the omelette.  Even then, there was nothing seriously wrong with it.  There was nothing fancy about the Sparrow’s Nest and its a brunch spot you do not go to expecting to be wow-ed.  Instead it is a place you go to be enjoyed being served a home-style breakfast that you could have made at home.  Simply because you can.

WenY

Bites: Friday Brunchin' @ Cecchi's, Inglewood.

The Italian brunch scene never stretched far beyond decadent pastries.  Or at least that was what part of Italy taught me.  But in Australia, its a very different scenario.  Cecchi’s has long been on my list of places to visit, but given the short time I have in Perth each break I never quite had the chance to go there.  Its ok, last in best dressed? LOL or so I hope.

 Cecchi’s has now got a fully established breakfast/brunch menu and I would say that there are no excuses for any short falls in the food.  So how did it go?  Some of the stuff we ordered that day:

Pork Sausages & Belly, with Apple, Sauerkraut and Fried Egg.

I reckon the picture of this dish got you as surprised as we were when it hit the table ahaha.  We expected something like a sausage and pork belly combination,  not diced pork belly bits and piece of sausages.  Flavour wise though, it was decent.  You got the seasoned sausages, and slightly lardy belly balanced by the sharper flavoured sauerkraut.  And of course the runny yolk to mix the two!

Fried Chicken, Potato Hash, Red Pepper Jam, and Fried Egg.

Originally meant to come with steak, YH could not help but ask for a change to Fried Chicken.  The result was an American style diner meal.  I reckon the serving size of the fried chicken unlike the tiny pork belly & sausage earlier, could easily be a dinner meal!  Before we dug in, my friends sort of wondered whether the people in town were frying chicken because it was the “in-thing” or because they really excelled at frying chicken.  While he did not think it sucked, YH reckoned that you would have to be pretty spectacular to make fried chicken for breakfast.  The crispiness of the chicken was plausible but more flavoured would have done the frying more justice.  Vil who ordered a similar dish with truffled scrambled eggs felt the same way too.  

Mushroom Trifoliate, Ricotta & Goat Cheese Mousse, Onsen Egg and Toast

After a heavy breakfast, I decided to go with something a little lighter and meat free.  I chose the mixed shroom dish!  Cooked-well I must say but I might have to question seasoning.  I reckon a little more garlic and butter would make the shrooms more juicy.  It was much needed too because the cheese mousse was not as airy as I had expect it to be even after breaking the yolk and mixing it.  Was it terrible? Definitely no, in fact it was quite nice! But could be better.

Cecchi’s has been quite heavily publicised and I reckon the food they serve was OK.  Not great, not bad, but average.  In saying that, a mix of enjoyable sitting and good plating kept the morning interesting.  Now that I think back of that breakfast, the show stopper on the breakfast table that morning was the fact that we were automatically served GF Toast?  Ok, I am only assuming its GF toast because it was literally hard as rock haha.  It might just be 10 day-old bread.   Will I return to Cecchi’s?  That’s for the future to tell :P!

WenY

Bites: A New Brunch Opening @ Nic and Kolo, Applecross

Nic & Kolo is a new establishment in the Applecross Cafe strip.  It opened its door to the public 2 weeks ago and a quick tag from fellow foodie Nini @ Ninifoodielicious means my next brunch venue was sorted.  Coming in, the service was a tad slow as they were clearly understaffed.  But hey, all new cafes have this issue right?  We eventually sat ourselves down and instantly, the interior was admirable.  The layout was very clean and at the entrance was a very blingy counter.

Mocha for Bel & Tea for me:

My tea was right from the shopping aisles so no dramas on my side.  Bel enjoyed her coffee which dispel any concerns for the curious diners.  

The menu came a little later and had the usual suspects.  A few savoury choices and sweet one to seal the meal.  Bel ordered the Shrooms, with Horseradish Créme, and Eggs on Toast.

A simple people-pleaser kind of dish.  The thing about simple is that every element has to be executed spot on which leaves it very exposed to errors.  But no dramas here.  Bel was pleased with the tender shrooms!  Her only comment?  It is very hard to eat when everything is stacked on the toast. Definitely a first world problem haha.

As I had something savoury earlier on at home, I decided to go for Nic & Kolo’s buttermilk pancake.  The Buttermilk Pancake with Slab Bacon, and Caramel Créme.  

For me, the dish looked damn good.  The thick slabs of bacon were smokey and meaty in each bite without an overbearing saltiness.  The caramel had a beautiful nuttiness to it which help bring the pancake breakfast together.   But where the pancake was meant to be a pancake, was where I felt let down the most.  When someone offers me pancakes it immediately springs to mind; light, fluffy, evenly browned and with the use of buttermilk a lovely aroma when it hits the table.  While I definitely did get a whiff of buttery fragrant, it fell short on the rest of my preferences.  My pancake was cooked unevenly so one side was cooked well while the thicker half was undercooked, wet.  One the outside, the pancake had more browning that I would have liked.  More crisp than a nice fluffy top.  Then again, all the Instagram post are showing the same!?  Intentional? I wonder.

The thing about new openings are that they can be bit of a curved ball.  You can never quite predict the outcome of a meal.   But with new cafes, it was something I expected anyways.  Over all, the food here had a clear and concise concept with the qualities to reach the level it wants to be at.  Perhaps a few more weeks of fine tuning at site before Nic & Kolo reaches that mark but it is looking very promising.  I guess Cioccolato Espresso has finally got a challenger on the Applecross Cafe strip.

WenY

Bites: A Succulent Pulled Pork and Amazing Pancake Brunch @ Cafe 2TwentyFour, Belmont

With soaring brunch prices and cliché menus hoarding the brunch scene, Cafe 2TwentyFour is an unlikely but welcoming find.  Pardon me for my ignorance but I reckon Cafe 2TwentyFour  has been around for awhile now.  From Monster Shakes to the usual brunch menu, I was expecting something boring. But it was not.  To start were some hot drinks for the table.  Coffee for parents and Matcha Latte for myself.

My Matcha Latte was yummy! A little bit on the sweet side but every bit fragrant.  Not as grassy as I would like it to be but it reminded me of ones I had in Starbucks when I was in Europe :)! Good times!!

First up was my Pulled Pork Benedict ($19).

This was my second Aussie brunch in the last 8 months and while tbsp. set a starting level of what the Perth brunch scene has evolved to, I was keen to see what others had to offer.   Cafe 2TwentyFour did not disappoint.  The Pulled Pork was succulent and the marinate was joy.  But it was not the succulent meat that had me thrilled but rather the spices that were used.   I have had so many pulled meat lathered in boring brown braise so I will be fair that this is a much welcomed change!  It was almost like a Mexican pulled pork!  How can you not be excited?  Wilted spinach was obligatory but not in any way necessary.  I guess it makes the dish healthy? ha ha..  The Hollandaise  sauce was also another element well executed. Silky, and rich on the tongue, it was also enough acidity to maintain a fresh yet indulgent finish to bring the meal together.  Good!

Next was mom’s favourite the Ricotta Pancakes with Ice Cream, Caramelised Bananas, Bacon and Salted Caramel $17.

When it hit the table I was not too convinced about the looks.  I actually thought it would not be fluffy at one point.  But I was proved all wrong.  In fact, it probably tasted better than it looked.  The salted caramel, with those fluffy hot cakes were sensational.  Add that bacon for a salty punch and crisp to elevate the joy! 

If you had asked me how much I enjoyed the brunch here?  I would say the two dishes were lip-smackingly delicious.  The bill on the meal? A modest sub-$50 one. Parking is a bliss in the complex and the sitting area was pleasant on a mild winter’s day.  Seeing the day go by, I was there for about an hour enjoying the good food and spending time with my parents.  Will I come here again?  I definitely would.  Oh by the way no hipsters serving food here ;)

WenY

Bites: A bountiful brunch @ tbsp. , Bayswater

I came to tbsp. a couple weeks back for a fulfilling pre fly-back-to-work meal and that is exactly what I got.  Located in Maylands, the venue at 8am was lifely and the service attentive with its crew dedicated enough to explain the techniques behind its dishes.   I am finally here.

To start was a doughnut to share.  This one in its classic O-shape coated with a berry frosting and to finish were some dehydrated berries.

Initial impressions, perfect. It looked sensational.  But for me, that it where it all ends because besides the frosting and the berries, I look for a certain fluffiness when I eat my doughnuts.  And I got none.  For me, my doughnut experience starts with that outer brownish layer that’s slightly more bitey than the inner bits.  When I get inside, I expect a slightly yellow fluff as I pull it apart.  Here it was fluffy in the way of a crumbled sponge.  It did not have the mild elasticity.  The doughnut here was a miss.  It was far from the runny ones I have been seeing on Instagram which means I will need to revisit one day because this could be a one-off technical fault.

Next up was the Chorizo toast.  I think that is what its called.

A yummy looking dish.  Here, scarce is not an applicable word as you can see chunks of chorizo strewn all across the plate in a very good way.  You get that runny onsen egg for some TLC coating of all the elements to bring it together.  As simple as it looked, my mate enjoyed it heaps.

My choice for the day was none other than the infamous Brisket Benedict.

This calorie monster hit several sweet spots.  The onions were fantastic. Caramelised through, the onions were rich in its natural sweetness.  The brisket was also another high point, it was tender and absolutely delicious.  The seasoning was flavourful from all the marinade and not overly cloying despite being fatty.  Eggs I had no complain, as they were typical.  With everything on the plate, the Hollandaise was almost a home run but I felt like an additional notch of acidity would have help lifted the heaviness of the meal.  Or maybe, do it the Asian way and spike it with some Sriratcha for additional kick.  But for me, what made this meal difficult was the bread.  The bread in itself was faultless do not get me wrong.  But for some reason, there was a ton of oil gushing out from the bread.  This was where I died.  But once the bread was away, I was good again.   Perhaps it was the juicy fattiness of the pulled brisket.  If that was the case then tbsp. is better of straining it away and using small quantities to toast the bread where required.

tbsp. was a nice bite but I’m was not overly wow-ed because I find the Spicy Beef Benedict at Typika in Claremont to be equally good.  And to think of it, that was back in 2013!!  You would expect 3 years to make a difference haha.  In saying that though, because tbsp. is nearer to home, I reckon its a much easier location to get to.  Over all, the food was above average, the environment was nice and parking was not too difficult.  Would I come back? Definitely yes, to try their other doughnuts.  But for me, the highlight was the customers service.  While you rarely get much interaction at brunch cafes, that little explanation about the doughnut was enough to convince me that the people at tbsp. cared!

WenY

Munich: A Schmalznudel Breakfast @ Cafe Frischhut, Prälat-Zistl-Straße

Germany is a country known for its beer, football, precision engineering and really tall people.  But there is more to Germany than what meets the eyes.  A rich cultural heritage paired with modern influence has resulted in a diverse European landscape.  In the next few posts, I re-visit the sights and feeds that made me love this systematic country.

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A chilly wind welcomed me the next morning.  The bus ride to town had some graffiti here and there but nothing was more astonishing than seeing boozy party heads board the 8am bus home.  Even as they boarded I could hear dance music echoing from the nearby club! This was party town for sure.  But nothing could distract me from my quest to seek the German version of the Cantonese “Ham Chin Peng” or deep fried bread called the Schmalznudel.  For that, I went to Cafe Frischhut located by the Viktualien Market.

The smell of freshly fried bread was every bit tempting.  The first bite in is a little off-putting as it did not taste as good as it looked.  But soon, the simplicity of the slightly salted pastry becomes an interesting flavour. Crispy, fluffy and over all very pleasing,  Then you hit the middle bit which is sweet!! This reminds me so much of home!  

Because two is better than one, I call for a second pastry.  This time it was the apricot jam doughnut and it was nothing short of more-ish.  Fruity apricot jam with a mild tartness had to be the highlight as I reckon the deep fried doughnuts were done better in Victoria Market in Melbourne.  Even then, how much difference can there be?  And more importantly who in the world dislikes a good doughnut ball right? :D!

The sink it all in, a cup of warming hot chocolate the way it normally is.  Super chocolatey but not too sweet.

While the warm breakfast here beats the other cold ones we have had in Europe, the price was a slight shocker.  These simple pastries amounted to €16 which is quite a lot if you ask me!  Also note that the drinks and food have different prices for eating in and taking away.  Having it in the cafe cost some 50 cents more per item!  But at the end of the day, I was still every bit satisfied.

WenY

London: The full Monty @ the Breakfast Club, Hoxton

On every trip I go to,  the morning before fly out always goes in a flash.  By the time I get on the plane, settle in and finally arrived at my home destination, more often than not I feel as though I have just ran a marathon.  Whether its that shitty budget airline Easyjet or the 1 hour train ride from the airport to my apartment, I always end up feeling pretty spent and dinner-less.  So on my last day in London it was time to build the reserves.  This time, I was at the Breakfast Club in Hoxton.

The venue serves the American/English for breakfast in an pub-styled cafe with familiar music in the background.  To start up the morning (which I woke up feeling super hungry), was a Peanut Butter Milkshake.

Good old Peanut Butter Milkshake £5.  Just the month before when Shake Shack in Convent Garden ran out of their special “peanut butter” for my shake, I left London feeling defeated. So when the Breakfast Club had it on their menu, I was sold.  The milkshake was spot on when it came to its consistency.  Unfortunately the sweet-salty balance was hanging a little on the sweet side.  I needed perhaps one more generous scoop of peanut butter. A satisfying drink nonetheless.

The full Monty w/ fried eggs  £11

Its all your usual suspects gathering on a plate this morning.  You have the toast, eggs, crisp bacon, meaty sausages, sauteed shrooms, pan fried potatoes, beans and of course, baked beans.  The full Monty was hard to go wrong with and yes, nothing went wrong.  The big breakfast was a great morning fuel for a long day but then again, it was also a very average breakfast that you could find anywhere in London but it was something you had to have in London.

The Breakfast Club in Hoxton had no queue when we were there at 9.45am and that is exactly what I look for where possible.  Fuss free diners to kickstart my mornings.  Pair that with good service  and a decent food experience to get the Breakfast Club Hoxton.  The food I had was not the healthiest for sure but it was rather comforting.  However, comforting while good can also be bad when you eat what I eat.  In this case, it was safe to say that the only thing I will not be doing after the meal was a medical check up.  

WenY

London: An Indian Breakfast @ Dishoom, Shoreditch

Indian food.  Ember red appearance and melting pot of flavours where meat & spices fuse into a full bodied pleasure.  While lunch and dinner are the common meals one might have Indian food for, there are people in the UK who thought “Why not bring it to the breakfast table too?”.  This is the story of the highly successful Dishoom line of restaurants scattered over London city.

The entrance of its Shoreditch branch from the back brings you through a lush garden into a wooden accented indoor dining area.  The setting makes it feel as if you are taking a step back in time.  Dishoom’s menu is predominantly Indian classic as you might expect.  The only problem is that nothing on their menu seems familiar.  In saying that, nothing was to risky to try and this is some of the food we had.

A Chocolate Chai to start the day.

A creamy, and chocolaty delight with a punch of chai.  The whiff of cinnamon is unmistakable and the acidity of the drink paired with a mild spice keeps the usually rich chocolate drink  light for the morning.  If you like chai, you will like this!

My breakfast is the Kejriwal  £5.50.  

What is it?  A chilli cheese toast with fried eggs.  I was skeptical of the size when it hit the table.  Do not be fooled!  It was actually enough to be decently full but not overly filled.  The perfectly fried cheese on the sandwich with a mildly runny egg is so simple but so good.  I was expecting a chunky chilli topping but there was nothing I could see.  Just a mild burn from a spread underneath the cheese.  Very yummy!

My friends had a Bacon Naan Roll and a Sausage Naan Roll £5.50 each.

They are quite similar in appearance.  Taste wise, they were not too dissimilar. Each had fried eggs, chunky cut sausages or smoked bacon, and tangy chutney wrapped in naan bread.  I tried the sausage one and reckon that made a better breakfast because the sausages were still juicy.  This was because my colleague felt that the naan was a little dry and I agreed because it looked over toasted.  For this reason along, the sausage gets my pick! Pair  award winning sausages, mildly runny yolk and naan along with some delicious chutney.  How good does that sound?  Superb I would say!

Dishoom was an interesting brunch for me.  Who is to say that the brunch scene in London is boring?!  Well I guess I did and not I have to bite my tongue for it.  With the Riding House and Dishoom done, London actually has some decent brunch spots no kidding!  The prices and sizes are decent too.  Even more so when you put creativity on a plate into the equation.  Will I return to Dishoom?  Hell yeah.

WenY

Bites NLD: Deep-dish Apple Pie @ Winkel 43, Amsterdam

Beyond the raw herring, Gouda cheeses, and frites fronting the Amsterdam food culture is another iconic feed.  The deep-dish apple pie.  To have a slice of what is supposedly the best apple in the country, I took a trip to Amsterdam to visit Winkel 43.  This breakfast cafe stops preparing all freshly cooked breakfast on the weekend to cater for the greater demand of their famous deep-dish apple pies.

The walk to Winkel 43 is some 15 minutes or 10 minutes tram from Amsterdam Central Station.  The walk at 9am through the canals are amazingly beautiful and it did not disappoint.  So if you are up for some morning exercise before sugary treat, definitely go for one!

Winkel 43's deep dish apple pie!

At first glance, the slice of pie looked every  bit plain.  But do not be fooled.  The generous amount of juicy apples slices that Winkel 43 packs between those pastries shell were all the rave.  Every bite into the warm juicy slices of apple coated in bite of sugary cinnamon was yummy.  Occasionally you get little raisins that gives that burst of sweetness too!  Note that the pastry was not your typically crumbly short crust.  Its consistency was a little chewy but very nice  I would say!

Was Winkel 43’s deep-dish apple pie worth my 45 minute journey to Amsterdam?  It really makes me wonder.  Yes it was good, the apples were generously packed in there but to a certain extent I could not justify the effort if apple pie was the sole purpose of my trip.  Well, perhaps if I had my entourage and a driver then I could buy an entire apple pie like Bill Clinton was famously rumoured to have done back when he was President.  Nonetheless, if you are in Amsterdam looking to start your morning with a kick, Winkel 43’s apple pie is definitely the way to go!  Come early too as it gets seriously busy once the clock strikes 10am!

WenY

London: Amazing Chorizo Hash @ the Riding House Cafe, Oxford Circus

It was a Sunday morning and it was time for breakfast.  But with the Delaunay breaking my bank the other day, I decided to stay away from bloggers' suggestions and instead depended on my robot partner Siri.  First on her list was an Australian place called Granger & Co. in Notting Hill but it was an hour wait.  With not time to waste,  I asked again and Siri recommended the Breakfast Club in Oxford Circus.  Alas, it was another one hour wait! For the third and final attempt, Siri recommended the Riding House Cafe just a few minutes walk from the Breakfast Club.

At 9.20am, there was no queue which means my friend Jacques and I were seated immediately.  Its morning breakfast menu was charming with all the usual suspects but I could not go past the first item I saw on the menu, the Chorizo Hash Browns for £10.

Crisp on top and soft on the inside, the Hash Brown infused with Chorizo flavours was every bit amazing.  Each mouthful comes with a whiff smokey paprika hit.  In certain parts you have slices of  Chorizo which gave the dish a meaty bite.  To finish was some simply garnished spinach leaves, poached eggs and a large mushroom.  Definitely no complains from me.

After all meat we had yesterday Jacques have something light and went for the Bircher Muesli (£4.50).

While I could not make much out of it.  I knew he enjoyed it very much. But that was probably because he was scared of all the eating I made him do the day before haha.   Nonetheless, the lush berry topping and sticky muesli looked promising!  

The Riding House Cafe was a surprise candidate during my trip to London, and it served me a sensational brunch.  Not to mention a rather cheap one too!  Including tea, I think the bill came up to £20 for two of us which was rather cheap compared to my meal at the Delaunay the day before.  Jacques thought the same too! He commented that compared to the Delaunay, the Riding Horse Cafe was a place he would return to over and over again.  

P/S: When I was leaving at 10.45am, there was a small queue outside.  But it was nothing compared to the Breakfast Club and Granger & Co. I went to earlier!

WenY

London: the Full English @ Delaunay, Convent Garden.

London is one of the world’s most international cities and it's food scene is sensationally vibrant.  But because EasyJet arrived some 3 hours after my intended arrival, I was too tired and decided to sleep my hunger out.  Never trust something that calls itself "easy".  Thankfully, it did not take long before the morning came and I was prepared to eat.  For this,  I brought my host/colleague Jacques to the Delaunay, an elegant top class establishment with suited up waitstaff in Convent Garden. 

What better way to start the morning with some tea and a Jam Doughnut (£3.75).  While it was really quite a basic Jam Doughnut, I still enjoyed every bit of it! I am a sucker for these things haha.  Fluffy, sugary deep-fried doughnut balls filled with a fruity jam.  Damn!

After finishing the doughnut, our breakfasts arrived.  Jacques and I decided to go for two very different breakfast which the Delaunay offers.  Mine was the full English while his was the Viennese breakfast.  The main difference?  His was a traditional Austrian breakfast platter of charcuterie with a bagel, egg and accompanying sauce of mustard whilst for me, it was the good old fry-up.

The Viennese breakfast (£11.50).

For the full English breakfast (£16.50), you have all the usual suspects.  Streaky bacon, juicy sausages, fried eggs, shrooms and a decadent black pudding.  The only odd element which I feel did not deserve to be on the plate were the baked beans.  Not because it was not a proper element of a full English, but simply because it looked so “out-of-the-can” which it probably was.

While everything was prepared well on the plate, it was the black pudding which I enjoyed most.  The black pudding was crisp on the outside but on the inside, it was mildly creamy with all the seasoning of herbs making it really tasty and unlike the ones in Australia which tend to be seasoned heavily, the one here was seasoned moderately which helped accentuate the meatiness of the pudding!

While the breakfast was really quite enjoyable, it was not a cheap affair!  It was perhaps we had our breakfast quite quickly and did not quite take the proper time to absorb the wonderful place the Delaunay was.  You will realise there were people there earlier than you still sipping their same pot of tea even though you have finished your breakfast.  My choice of breakfast that morning might seem odd to those who know me considering I have sworn to never eat things I could make at home.  This includes omelettes, bacons, sausages and the list goes on. But coming all the way to England means I had to try their iconic morning starter, the full English breakfast.  Thankfully it was delicious!

WenY

Bites: The best Salmon and Mandarin Pudding @ Harvest Espresso, Victoria Park

Harvest Espresso has changed its menu to respect the produce in season and the winter style of dining.  Their approach is the perfect way of dining where everything is ripe, and full of flavour. New on its menu was a hearty braised beef, a crispy skin salmon and a decadent orange dessert. 

Last winter, they served a beef dish that was slightly underwhelming i.e. the beef pie that did not really tickle my fancy.  But how about this Winter's slow braised cheeks with celeriac puree, PX and remoulade salad?  To start, it was a very hearty combination on the plate complimented by a sensational plating which gave it a hint of sophistication.  Love the contrast of the shiny dark-ish brisket and the remoulade salad at the top!

In essence, the braised beef could have easily be the best winter dish but there were a few slip ups starting with the tougher than expected beef cheek indicating that more braising time was required.  I liked the sauce but found it needing more inspiration beyond the rich PX flavour.  I wanted a sauce combining perfectly caramelised root vegetables and some other element of sweetness to drive the dish home as the PX sauce had a noticeably bitter note to it.  The beef cheeks were nice but it was no heaven.

The next dish was the Crispy Salmon Fillet with braised leeks, butter lettuce jus, toasted buckwheat, and Hon Shimeji mushrooms.

Another dish which reaped the benefits of the slow cooking process.  This was the best fish dish Harvest Espresso has ever served to me.  It was the perfect fish dish with the salmon skin perfectly crispy.  Add the plump and juicy mushrooms along with the buttery melt-in-your-mouth leeks and I was in heaven.  A dish like this is a dish that does not want to make you put your fork and knife down.  Just eat eat eat and eat!!  How can one forget the finer details of leak ash which was a nice touch which gave a hint of smokiness.  It was very mild though!  Probably due to subdued sensations attributed to the winter chill!

The classic mushroom omelette is a dish that never grows old with the season.

Its creamy centre, and generous ingredients make it an all time staple.  Noms!

The sweet ending of the meal is none other than Harvest Espresso’s steamed Mandarin Pudding. Harvest Espresso's Mandarin Pudding has made its way across the whole Instagram for the period I was away at work.

Thankfully, it lived up to the hype with the bright orange sponge coming out super light and fragrant.  Its accompaniment of toasted muesli, jelly, subtle coconut cream and earl grey crumble was a combination where you get all these little flavours working together to give texture, flavour and fragrance.  This was an absolute stunner of a dish.  This Mandarin Pudding from Harvest Espresso was loved by all.  Smashing!!

No conclusion needed here.  All you need to do is visit Harvest Espresso this weekend!

WenY

Singapore: Indian Galore @ Tekka Centre, Little India

Singapore is a superb one stop eating destination if you are looking for hassle free dining. From the hawker delights to the pinnacle of fine dining, this busy republic seem to have it all!  In this post, I took a morning trip with my resident aunt for some delicious hawker fare in town.  

First stop was Hong Lim Food Complex which boast two levels of affordable hawker fare. I started with the Outram Park Char Kuey Teow stall as everything else was still close at 9am!

Fresh out of the wok, the noodles cost just a little over $3 for the lot.  The noodles come out coated with egg and a dark caramelised coating. Juicy cockles are part of the fare but Singapore’s Best Char Kuey Teow felt a little lacking in that final bit of kick that stems from a good frying in the wok.  Instead, the Fried Kuey Teow was a little wet and had a slightly creamy coating from the eggs.  It was decent by all means but I found my adventures to Penang 2 years back to be more hearty and it got more tongue wagging too!  See my three Fried Kuey Teow reviews from Penang below:

Two Sister’s Char Kuey Teow

Ah Leng Char Kuey Teow

Sin Guat Keong @ Kimberley Road.

Once we were done, I started looking around for the famous Heng Kee Curry Noodles but was told that they do not open until closer to lunch.  Oh well!  My aunt then brought me to Tekka Centre on 655 Buffalo road in Little India just a few MRT stations away for more awesome eating.  As I enter the food court, I started drooling! There were so many stalls around and I honestly wanted to order everything!

I started with one of my biggest cravings the  Roti Canai or if you prefer Prata.  Doused with fish curry and a spoonful of sinfully delicious Sambal at Prata Saga Sambal Bermuda.  This cost no more than 80 cents and holy crap it was lovely.  Thin, and middle crispy with little pockets of air the take in all that lovely curry.  

To help fend off Singapore’s hot weather was Chendol!  This drink is served with a splash of coconut milk and a generous scoop of palm sugar.  Super delicious as I would expect it to be as the palm sugar used was of high quality as it had that slightly savoury fragrant.  Even the green stuff known as Chendol was super fresh unlike the ones in Perth that comes out of the can.  

To finish was a serve of Indian Rojak at Temasek Indian Rojak.  On the plate we had the customary cuttlefish, hardboiled eggs, fried spiced batter, fish cakes and all that other yummy goodies!!  To top if off were some freshly chopped vegetables with a bowl of peanuty-mildly sweet Rojak Sauce.  It was a little oil but like all Indian Rojak, it is simply something that you would expect!

Believe it or not, at this point I was thinking of whether I should go for the Mutton Briyani that was simply staring at me from no more than 20 metres away.  Yet I did not go for it as I knew I had to reserve my stomach for my lunch later on.  But I definitely wold when I come back to Singapore next time as this place is promising from the Mamak and Indian food I have tasted!  

If you are a Malaysian like myself, you are almost certain to downplay the success of the local Singaporean hawker scene which is very similar to Malaysia.  But this is definitely not true!  While the Char Kuey Teow is mediocre by Malaysian standards the Roti Canai, Chendol and Indian Rojak that I had puts most Mamaks in Malaysia shame!  Definitely a return for me.

WenY